Wednesday, July 08, 2009

It was around 4pm or so yesterday when hunlin and I were at QV in Melbourne. We were about to get something to eat/drink/munch at the food court but decided against it and decided to go to Starbucks instead to get a cuppa caramel macchiato.

We took the escalator up and stopped outside Max Brenner to watch the kids ice-skate in the small rink that they created for the winter. Large, thin pieces of ice were laid down at an open area which allowed people to rent (very blunt) skates to skate while their family members watched from the side, attempting to teach them how to keep their balance, snapping photos as they glide across the ice and happily clapping when their child/friend finally manages to skate without having to constantly hold onto the sides or another friend.

QV was packed yesterday and it was quite a cold and windy day too. People were packed both inside and outside of Max Brenner catching up with a warm cuppa hot chocolate.

As we were about to leave QV, we heard loud screams from this girl about 20 metres behind us. We turned back to see what was going on and then we saw this guy run past us very very quickly. What immediately came to mind was this idea that"there they go again, young teenagers trying to play around, one making fun of another and then running off".

We didn't think much of it and just tried to see if we could spot who the immature young teenagers were.

Then we heard another loud scream again. This time, we could make out what she was say. At the top of her voice in a very Korean accent, she screamed "SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!"

It took us about 3-5 seconds to actually make out what she was saying with the very thick Korean accent that she had.And then it struck me.Her bag/purse got snatched by the guy who just ran past us just about 10 seconds ago.

A snatch theft happened just before our eyes.He ran just past us.And we didn't do anything about it.We thought it was just a joke.He ran past us too quickly.We didn't even think of sticking our legs out to make him trip and fall on his face!

Then, the 'screaming girl' ran past us, pointing ahead indicating that THAT guy just snatched from her. Behind her was her other friend who was running after them.The moment that girl screamed "somebody help me" over and over again, this guy who was at Max Brenner having coffee got off his seat and ran after the thief.Damn was he fast!He ran past the girl like the incredibles kid.He didn't look back and kept running after that ass-of-a-fella that snatched whatever it was from that girl.

We, as the busy-body-people that we all naturally are, tried to see if we could keep up with the commotion that was going on.But hell were they fast.

By the time we got out of QV area and headed to the traffic light, we saw across the street, both the girls, and the good samaritan and a few others.I'm guessing that they caught the guy, got back their stuff and let that bastard go his way.The girls had a relieved "thanks for helping us" look and the 'we-just-got-snatched" look had began to fade away.

What was he thinking?That he could get away on the streets of Melbourne?In broad daylight on Swanston Street?No way in hell would he have escaped with her stuff.

That's one good thing about the City of Melbourne.Even though there's always drunk people on the streets at night thanks to the 'extreme binge drinking problem' that they have here, there are and will always be people who are kind enough to help another stranger in times of distress.

There wasn't just one guy who stood up and ran after the thief.If I recall well enough, there were at least three people (guys of course) who took the initiative to help.Even though Melbourne is not free of crime, it's a relief knowing that people will stand up for another.

Halfway around the world,Michael 'The King of Pop' Jackson's memorial took place the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, CA.The time where thousands of friends, families and fans gathered to pay tribute to the legend. To acknowledge the great impact he brought to the world. Demolishing the barrier between colours, nations and bringing people together as one.

The memorial service was live at 2.45am Melbourne Time this morning so I only watched the repeat at 11am. Mariah Carey, Usher, Stevie Wonder and many others sang songs to remember him by. Other friends and family like Kenny Ortega, Martin Luther King III and Brooke Shields took the stage with words about MJ that touched the world.

Jermaine Jackson (MJ's brother) took the stage to sing MJ's favourite song, Smile.It's clear that MJ will always be remembered, even though he's not here anymore.